10 Popular Taiwanese Foods

Food is a big part of Taiwanese culture. From street food to homemade dish, there is always a unique combination of flavors that is unforgettable. Here are 10 popular dishes to try if you ever get a chance to visit Taiwan.

1. Stir-fried Rice Noodle (Chao Mi Fen)

It can be plain or with a lot of vegetables such as Chinese mushroom, cabbage, carrot, and onion. Sometimes ground pork or shrimp will be added. The rice noodle is usually soaked in water until soft first, and add to the cooked vegetable and meat to soak up the flavor but not overcook the noodles.

2. Oyster Pancake (Er Ah Jian)

Big and fresh local oysters are cooked with eggs, vegetables, starch, and special sauce. It is a very addictive street food.

3. Fish ball soup (Yu Wan Tang)

The soup looks clear and light, with various types of fish balls and some chopped celery and white pepper. Goes well with rice noodle above.

4. Scallion Pancake (Chong You Bing)

Scallion pancake is a classic Chinese street food and breakfast. It smells wonderful when freshly cooked. You can add a fried egg and some sweet and spicy sauce. Eat it on the go with soy milk in a cup. Add extra scallions if you make it at home. 

5. Fish Tempura (Tian Bu La)

Tian Bu La is a traditional Taiwanese snack, but now it is available at any 7-11 convenience store in Taiwan. It is a mix of fish ball, fish stick, Tofu, root vegetable and others, and cooked in special broth for a long time. Great for winter time when it is cold outside.

6. Rice ball (Fan Tuan)

Fan Tuan is another popular breakfast food because it is so convenient to carry anywhere. Traditionally, it contains oil stick (You Tiao) and preserved vegetable. Now, tons of new flavors are available with added meat and vegetables. There is also a sweet version and a vegetarian version.  

7. Clam and winter melon soup

Since Taiwan is an island, seafood is a big part of the diet. Wintermelon is cooling in nature and great for summer. Add some sliced ginger and a little bit of rice wine, this dish is simple yet nutritious.

8. Si Shen Tang

This is a street version of traditional Chinese herbal formula "Si Shen Tang". It includes four herbs that will regulate stomach and spleen and open up the appetite. The street food version has intestines added. It is supposed to help with our intestine and digestion.

9. Ground pork noodle (Za Jiang Mian)

It is a basic noodle with some vegetable and special sauce (Za Jiang). Another similar one is cold noodle with sesame sauce and sliced cucumber. Simple and delicious.

10. Scallion bread

One of the traditional Taiwanese sweet bread. Salty scallion and sweet bread go well together for satisfying snack or breakfast.

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